‘Arrow’: Back to the Main Plot

After several weeks of episodes that do not involve the bad guy’s overall plot for Starling City, tonight’s episode of “Arrow” is sure to give us more info on it. You see, the bad guys call their plan “The Undertaking” and that is exactly what tonight’s episode is titled. Battling the main bad guys could not come at a worse time for our hero, Oliver/Arrow, because he is reeling from the loss of his best friend, Tommy, and his sidekick, Digg, both of whom are sick of his commitment to fighting crime his way… and both of whom suspect he still loves Laurel.

Lets get on with the recap, shall we?

The action starts with an unscrupulous accountant who is on his way to the Caymans to make what is almost certainly an illegal bank deposit. Arrow busts in and takes out the accountant’s bodyguards. He knocks out the accountant and steals his laptop. He takes it back to the Arrow hideout and gives it to Felicity so she can hack her way into it.

At the Queen family mansion, Moira is arguing on the phone. She insists that her missing husband, Walter, is still alive even though he has been missing for six months. She does not tell anyone but she knows that Walter was taken by Malcolm Merlyn, to ensure Moira’s cooperation in “The Undertaking.”

Time for a flashback. Instead of showing us life on Oliver’s island, this flashback features many of leaders of “The Undertaking” including Oliver’s father, Robert, and Merlyn. They are all in a meeting at the Queen mansion. There is a knock at the door and Moira goes to answer. It is Walter, back when he was just an executive of Queen Consolidated. He has some papers for Robert Queen to sign. He and Moira are pleasant with each other, but there is no hint of the romance that will blossom in the future once Robert dies.

At the meeting, Merlyn is preaching to the group about how troubled the city is. He blames the seedy part of town, the Glades, for his wife’s death. He points out that the others in the room all also lost something to the Glades. He says he is sick of trying to fix the Glades. He wants to level the Glades, completely destroy 24 square blocks of the city, and then rebuild it as something better. He even has a way to do it where suspicion will not fall on the group. It involves a company called Unidac Industries that is developing something that will solve their problems. Merlyn says it will take 5 years to develop, but he thinks it is worth the wait.

Side note: My hopes that we would learn a lot more about The Undertaking are most certainly going to be fulfilled this episode!

Back in the present, Laurel is at Oliver’s nightclub. She has been crying over Tommy leaving her. She has no idea why he left. Oliver suggests that Laurel and Tommy talk it out.

Felicity has hacked into the accountant’s computer. She finds evidence of a huge $2 million deposit on the exact date that Walter was kidnapped. Oliver realizes they can follow the money and figure out who kidnapped Walter. The money leads to Dominick Alonzo. He runs an illegal casino in town and is known for kidnapping.

Oliver and Felicity know one of them needs to go undercover at the casino to try to get access to the casino computers. Oliver is too conspicuous, so it must be Felicity.

Back to the flashback. Everyone else has left the Queen mansion except Malcolm Merlyn and Robert Queen. Robert can’t believe Merlyn is thinking of destroying part of the city. He reminds Merlyn that no matter what he does to the Glades, it won’t bring Merlyn’s wife back. Merlyn tells a horrifying story of his wife’s last phone message and how he listened to her die over and over again. Any doubt as to Merlyn motivation for leveling the Glades is laid to rest.

In the present, Felicity goes to visit Digg. She tells him about the lead on Walter’s whereabouts and wants Digg to come back and help them out again. Digg says that he will come back, as soon as Oliver admits that he needs Digg and says he is sorry.

Laurel goes to visit Tommy. She wants an explanation why they broke up. Tommy sighs and tells her, “You belong with Oliver. He is still in love with you.” He walks away.

Felicity and Oliver are headed to the casino. The plan is for Felicity to get caught counting cards and taken to Alonzo’s office, where they suspect he will give her a friendly warning and she will be able to plant a bug on his computer. Yeah, that should be easy!

Side note: Felicity is gorgeous when dressed up. Oliver needs to stop pining away for Laurel and notice the beautiful woman working on his computer!

Felicity goes into the casino and sits down at a Blackjack table. Oliver has staked her and she pulls out something like $10,000.

At Merlyn’s office, Moira is visiting. He informs her that the device is ready. It is being loaded on a truck for Starling City. Merlyn wants to toast to their success. They talk about the fact that they had to kill Robert Queen to get here. Moira says that if anyone is to blame for his death, it is her.

Another flashback. Robert is telling Moira about Merlyn’s plan to level the Glades. She begs him not to take part in it. She tells him that by stopping it and by saving thousands of lives he can undo anything wrong he has done in the past.

At the casino, Felicity is winning… big. A guard asks her to come with him. He escorts her to Alonzo’s office. He lectures her about cheating and she manages to plant the bug on his computer. He tells her to go, but before he does he points out that card counters often have a partner. He gets an ear piece that Felicity was using to talk to Oliver and crushes it on the ground. Felicity delivers one of the best lines of the episode when she says, “You’re going to be really upset when you meet my partner.”

Arrow bursts into the casino. He starts taking out guards and dealers left and right. Many of them have guns, but even machine guns are no match for a guy with a bow and arrow (did I really just write that?!!?). He gets to Alonzo’s office and rescues Felicity. Arrow grabs Alonzo and demands to know where Walter Steel is being held. Alonzo says Walter is dead. He delivered Walter and then heard a gunshot as the client killed him. Felicity cries.

Oliver goes back to the Queen mansion. He tells Moira and Thea that he has learned that Walter is dead. Moira refuses to believe it. She wants to know if they found a body. Moira leaves the mansion. I am sure she is going to talk to Malcolm.

Another “Undertaking” flashback – Robert Queen is talking to Frank, the Asian businessman who is part of Merlyn’s group of rich bad guys. Frank, like Robert, does not want to kill thousands of people. Robert says he has learned that Merlyn has been buying buildings in the Glades for months. Merlyn’s plan will only work if Merlyn owns enough of the Glades to rebuild it the way he wants once he has destroyed it. Robert wants to buy the Glades himself to keep Merlyn from doing it. The flashback also includes a scene with somewhat younger Oliver and Laurel deciding to move into together, though it is mostly because Laurel pressured Oliver into it.

In the present, Moira storms into Merlyn’s office. She is in tears and says they had a deal that he would not kill Walter if she cooperated with The Undertaking. Merlyn says Walter is not dead and he turns on a videocamera that shows Walter to prove it. What neither of them know is that Oliver/Arrow followed his mother to Merlyn’s office and has installed a listening device. Now Arrow knows that Merlyn and Moira are behind Walter’s kidnapping.

Back at the Arrow hideout, Felicity comes across a despondent Oliver. He tells her that Walter is alive and that Merlyn is behind the kidnapping. He has Felicity call up Merlyn’s phone records to trace the call that Merlyn made to the house where Walter is being held. They locate it and see lots of guards, but only one of the roof. Oliver uses a parachute kind of thing to get to the roof and takes out the lone guard there.

In a scene straight out of the movie, The Raid: Redemption, Arrow takes on about 2 dozen thugs in the hallway of the building, dispatching them with various martial arts moves and arrow shots. When he is done, bodies strew the floor.

One final flashback. Robert is taking his yacht on a trip to China (where he plans to secretly meet with Frank to plot their plans against Merlyn). Oliver is going with him. Laurel is there to wish him goodbye. She gives him the picture we have seen him carrying in his wallet ever since. We also see Merlyn speaking to Frank, discussing their plans to sink the yacht, a plan which resulted in Robert’s death but put Oliver on the path to becoming Arrow.

Back at the hospital, Merlyn is there pretending to be thankful that Walter has been found. He speaks to Oliver and wants to know if the police have any leads on the people who kidnapped Walter. Olvier says no, but then pauses and says, “They’ll get what’s coming to them.” Ooooh, he is gonna go after Merlyn!! I just can’t wait for him to find out that Merlyn is also The Dark Archer!

Laurel is at the hospital too. She wants Oliver to go talk to Tommy. She wants him to tell Tommy that Oliver is not in love with Laurel anymore. “I can’t do that,” Oliver says. “Why not?” she asks. “Because it wouldn’t be true,” he replies. Laurel is shaken as Oliver walks away.

Oliver goes to Digg’s apartment. He says, “I’m sorry. You were right and I was wrong.” He tells Digg that Digg was right about his mother being involved in The Undertaking. Oliver knows Moira and Merlyn are planning something terrible and he wants Digg’s help to stop them.

The last scene of the episode is a truck from Unidac Industries on the road, making its way to Starling City.

For Arrow fans waiting for the main plot to really move forward, this episode was like manna from heaven! Lots of great background and new developments. Perhaps most importantly, Oliver now knows who the bad guys are and that Merlyn is behind everything. He also knows his mom is at the center of it as well. With just a couple episodes left in the season, we are now racing to the finish! So, what did you think of this episode? Leave a comment and we can all talk about it!

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